Oscar Zaydok Log 1

[Oscar Zaydok]

Welcome Reader. This log documents my adventures in trying to get stronger, bigger leaner muscles.

Training history

I lifted weights in my teens but wasn't very successful. Beyond beginner's gains, strength and size were very hard to come by and for years it felt like I was spinning my wheels. After a long lay off from weight-training I began lifting again in 2009 to overcome an injury I sustained at work. I had some serious mobility and neurological problems to deal with so my progress was slow and undulating. I started off with a full body routine three times a week. I was largely dependent on resistance bands to begin with as I did not have the balance required to use freeweights nor 100% feeling in my limbs. After about a year I developed sufficient strength and balance to stop using a crutch to help me walk and progressed to using freeweights in my training. My health issues are still there but with the help of weight training I am managing them.

Since December 2010 I started lifting challenging weights. In addition to the following strength improvements from Dec '10 to Feb '11 I also reduced my waist from 36 to 33 inches.

Full squat 45kgx8 to 60kgx8
Lying leg curls 30kgx6 to 37.5kgx8
Leg ext 30kgx8 to 47.5x12
One leg calf raise 5kgx8 to 17.5kgx8
Supinated grip pulldown 55kgx6 to 68kgx6
BB Bench press 45kgx8 to 63.5kgx8
Cable crunches 45kgx20 to 55x20
DB Side lateral raise 5kgx8 to 7kgx12
DB Incline curls 7kgx10 to 10kgx12
Rope pushdowns 10kgx13 to 14.5kgx12

Goals

My long-term goals are a follows.

Strength: I want to be strong enough to do the following lifts; full squat 100kgx8, pulldown and barbell bench press 80kgx8. I also want to get stronger on the other exercises in my routine but don't have a specific long-term goal for them yet.

Physique: I want to have the following measurements; chest 40in, waist 30in, legs 21.5in calves 14.5in, arms 14.5in, forearms 11.5in, neck 14.5in. My current measurements are as follows; height 5ft 5in, wrist 6.5in ankle 8in, weight 69kg, chest 39in, waist 33in, legs 22.25in, calves 13.5in, arms 13.5in, forearms 10.5in, neck 14.5.

I will focus on getting stronger 1 pound at a time and improving my physique a quarter of an inch at a time.

Routine

At the moment I am lifting 4 times a week on an upper/lower split which suits my personal circumstances at the moment.

#1
Full Squat 3-4x6-8/3' (3-4 sets of 6-8 reps with 3 mins rest btw sets)
Leg curl 3-4x6-8/3'
Leg extension 2-3x10-12/2'
Leg curl 2-3x10-12/2'
One leg calf raise 3-4x6-8/3'
Back extension 1x10-12
Cable crunch 1x18-20
One leg calf raise 2-3x2x10-12

#2
Barbell bench press 3-4x6-8/3'
Pulldown supinated grip 3-4x6-8/3'
DB bench press 2-3x10-12/2'
DB prone row 2-3x10-12/2'
Rope pushdown 1-2x10-12/2'
Incline curl 1-2x10-12/2'
DB side lateral raise 2-3x10-12/2'

Diet

2-3 meals a day, whole foods supplemented with a multi-vitamin and fish oil. My approach to weight-training is fairly structured but I'm more instinctive with my diet. I don't count calories or macro-nutrients but estimate when necessary. This might not be optimal but it has worked for me so far and I know from past experience I won't stick to a diet where I have to count calories and grams.

[BendtheBar]

Subbed and looking forward to seeing you reach your goals.

[Oscar Zaydok]

Thank you!

[Oscar Zaydok]

Current lifts are as follows. All weights in kilograms. Previous PRs in brackets.

Squat 70x8 (60x8)
Leg curl 41.25x7 (37.5x8)
Leg ext 52.5x12 (47.5x12)
One leg calf raise 20x8 (17.5x8)
Cable crunch 63x20 (55x20)
BB bench press 64x8 (63.5x8)
DB bench press 23x12
Supinated grip pulldown 68x7 (68x6)
DB prone row 15x12
Rope pushdown 15.75x11 (14.5x12)
DB incline curl 10.75x10 (10x12)
DB side lateral raise (leaning forward on 60 degree incline bench) 7.5x12 (7x12)

Improvement across the board mostly. I am particularly proud of my 70x8 squat since it equates to squatting a kilo over my bodyweight for 8. This is probably a modest strength level for most people but it's an accomplishment for me, particularly as this time last year I could not walk without a cane and any form of weighted squat was painful. I don't think I can post links or embed YouTube videos yet so I've put the YouTube code below of my achieving this small but personal milestone: QPd6WWnV11E

Unfortunately yesterday I sprained my neck with a non-training related incident. Hopefully it will recover before my next workout.

[Abaddon]

Hi and welcome to the forum!
You will be able to post links and vids once you have passed the 15 post mark. It's just a way to deter spammers from messing with our wonderful forum.

[bigtim27]

Hello and welcome to the forum!!

[BendtheBar]

Sorry for the inconvenience regarding links. You will be able to post them very soon. We have a minimum number of posts set on the board to stop spammers and such.

Congrats on the great workout. Here's the video:

YouTube - Squatting 70kg for 8 reps at bodyweight 69kg.

YouTube - Squatting 70kg for 8 reps at bodyweight 69kg.

[BendtheBar]

I just set it so you can post links.

[Carl1174]

welcome to the forum buddy, cant wait to see you smash your goals this year

Carl.

[Oscar Zaydok]

Thank you everyone for making me feel welcome.

I've been nursing a sprained neck and shoulder for the past week making it difficult to train my upper body. The sprain was not caused by lifting. I've been doing light high rep pulldowns and shrugs, stretching, self-massage and applying heat to encourage healing. It's getting better.

It hasn't hindered my lower body training though. I improved my squat by 2.5kg and video filmed my form to make sure my technique is still ok. Comments welcome. As you can see I wear boots. I'm saving up for weightlifting shoes but in the meantime find these boots are helpful in allowing me to squat deeper and more upright than if I were to wear shoes with flat soles. This is the style of squat I prefer.